Beer in the news

[Keith]

Sheepshit malt group buy anyone?

[BobbyOK]

Pete Coors Confused By Craft Beer Growth

Pete Coors, great-grandson of Coors founder Adolph Coors and chair of the Molson Coors Brewing Company and Chairman of MillerCoors, recently talked with the Denver Post about the expansion of craft beer, saying he has trouble understanding the growth of craft beer during such hard economic times. According to thearticle, MillerCoors showed a 2% decline in domestic sales last month, which is indicative of beer sale trends in recent years as craft beer gains more market share.

“We have a lot of bar owners who are enamored with craft beers,” Coors told the Post. “They are beginning to take off premium light handles and putting bottles behind the bar instead and replacing the handles with craft beer handles. We lose 50% of our volume when that happens.”

While domestic light beer sales continue to drop, the more expensive craft beer market continues to grow at 7%, which baffles Coors.

“In this economy, that is difficult to understand. But people are staying home now, not buying cars or houses. They have money to spend. They want to spend it on something that they think has more value…you talk about millennials. The world is very different.”

Coors says his company is looking into brewing more “crafty” labels, but remains a Banquet Beer drinker himself.

[McGruff]

Well Pete, I don't need a 24 of Coors Light to pound back anymore. Just a few bottles of good, hand crafted beer will do. Sorry about your lower sales but I want flavour in my beer and don't need to pound back fizzy, carbonated piss.

[mikeorr]

I see the Atlantic Canada Beer Blog was the 'daily plug' in this morning's Halifax Examiner Morning File: http://www.halifaxexaminer.ca/featured/ ... y-29-2014/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[chalmers]

I see the Atlantic Canada Beer Blog was the 'daily plug' in this morning's Halifax Examiner Morning File: http://www.halifaxexaminer.ca/featured/ ... y-29-2014/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Neat! That would explain why we had a bump in hits on the 29th. Cool beans.

Thanks for the heads up, I'm busy enough with local beer news, I rarely get time to delve in to real local news.

[mr x]

How to make beer – first take a brewer’s beard …
It’s not just food that’s found in men’s beards. Now brewers are rummaging around in their face hair to find wild yeast for brewing

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle ... wild-yeast" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

“Wet horse blanket”, “farm yard” and “funky” are not the most enticing culinary terms. But these are just some of the peculiar aromas and flavours a new breed of experimental brewers crave as they embrace “wild yeast” – harvested from the likes of brewers’ beards and rotting fruit.

Before brewers can make beer, they must make “wort”, which is essentially an intensely sugary, non-alcoholic malt drink with a flavour not unlike a decent mug of Horlicks. Only when this sugary concoction comes into contact with yeast is it transformed into one of the world’s most popular, oldest and complex alcoholic tipples.

Of course, there are thousands of wild yeast strains, but, save for their use by a few Belgian brewers to make “Lambic” beers, they tend to be ignored (mainly because of their ability to cause infections), while around 24 laboratory-grown varieties are considered useful for brewers.

But for those who love new flavours, the good news is that brewers are rediscovering their wild side. Indeed, in the past six months a whole roster of wild fermented beers has hit the shelves of specialist beer bars and shops.

This summer, Cornish brewer St Austell released a spectacularly good brew called Tamar Creek, which thanks to being fermented over locally sourced, foot-mashed cherries, tastes more like an exceptional vintage port than beer. Londoners are at it too. At the Kernel brewery, in Bermondsey, owner Evin O’Riordain has created London Sour, an intensely tangy beer that, with the help of a natural yeast known as Brettanomyces, has the ear-tickling sourness of a double shot of Jif. Don’t let this put you off though; it also boasts the palette-cleansing quality of a lemon sorbet and, at under 3% is exceedingly refreshing.

One of the most fervent advocates of wild yeast, however, is the Wild Beer Co. This experimental microbrewery in the tiny Somerset village of Westcombe makes more than 15 different beers, fermented with everything from locally picked apples to a 58-year-old sourdough bread starter discovered in a nearby bakery. Demand for the Wild Beer Co’s once niche beers is now so great that it sells to more than 200 outlets across Britain and exports to 10 countries, including Australia, Italy and the USA.

American brewers, of course, like to be one step (or follicle) ahead of the game. Rogue Ales, a brewery based in Oregon, has created a beer using yeast harvested from its brewmaster’s impressively bushy beard. Colleagues snipped nine hairs from the beard, which apparently hasn’t been shaved since 1978, and sent them off to a lab for testing. Amazingly, scientists were able to identify a strain of yeast that was perfect for making pale ale. A marketing gimmick? Oh, yes. But it certainly tastes good.

[canuck]

Article is a couple of months old now, but still laughable.......especially this line.

In the article, Coors tells reporter Jeremy Meyer that he’s doesn’t understand Americans’ growing thirst for full-flavored, all-grain craft brewed beers, let alone why anyone in their right mind would shell out their hard-earned shekels for a cold one that costs more than a Coors Light.

http://denver.thedrinknation.com/articl ... rs-Decline#" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[pvanberk]

Article is a couple of months old now, but still laughable.......especially this line.

In the article, Coors tells reporter Jeremy Meyer that he’s doesn’t understand Americans’ growing thirst for full-flavored, all-grain craft brewed beers, let alone why anyone in their right mind would shell out their hard-earned shekels for a cold one that costs more than a Coors Light.

http://denver.thedrinknation.com/articl ... rs-Decline#" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This reminds me of the story about when Steve Jobs met with music execs to setup iTunes. The Execs said they didn't use computers because they weren't secretaries. Talk about being out of touch...

[mr x]

Guinness goes blonde to cater to American tastes



http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/e ... -1.1904963" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Guinness, Ireland's dark, velvety meal in a glass, is launching a significantly lighter, blonder version of itself in a bid to try and appeal to American palates.

Next month, US beer stores will begin stocking the Guinness Blonde American Lager, pitched as the Americanized version of the iconic Irish stout.

What does that mean? A much lighter, more refreshing recipe characterized by a floral, hoppy aroma -- flavor profiles that are most familiar and popular among the Bud and Miller-lite swigging crowd.

The kind of beer served in places from "...sports bars in Texas to truck stops in Iowa to backyard barbecues in Montana."

The brand's launch of an American-style lager comes amid flagging sales of Guinness in the US, points out Businessweek: Volume sales of the Irish stout in North America fell 6 percent in the 12 months ending June 30.

It's not the first time parent company Diageo has released an edited version of its flagship beer to cater to local tastes. Guinness Extra Smooth is a smoother recipe sold in Ghana, Cameroon and Nigeria, while Malta Guinness is a non-alcoholic sweet drink sold in the UK, East Africa and Malaysia.

[dean2k]

Guinness goes blonde to cater to American tastes

I had to verify the url to make sure that wasn't from The Onion

[chicanuck]

Guinness goes blonde to cater to American tastes

I had to verify the url to make sure that wasn't from The Onion

"The kind of beer you can get in a truck stop in Iowa........" WTF??????

The marketing people are obviously stretched thin on this new product launch if that is the best they can do. I hope they end their Superbowl commercial with fireworks, bikini models, ATV's jumping over things, loud rock music and a big......."America......fuck yeah!!!!!"

[canuck]

^

[jtmwhyte]

Next month, US beer stores will begin stocking the Guinness Blonde American Lager, pitched as the Americanized version of the iconic Irish stout.

What does that mean? A much lighter, more refreshing recipe characterized by a floral, hoppy aroma -- flavor profiles that are most familiar and popular among the Bud and Miller-lite swigging crowd.

[/quote]

so, to brew an "Americanized version" of Irish Stout you don't have to change much... just the hops... and the malt... and the water... and make it a lager instead of an ale... and change the colour... and the mouthfeel... and make it more like Bud and Miller... I wish I'd known that when I brewed my last American Stout

[CurtisD]

Don't they already have Harp to fill the pale lager market segment?

[jeffsmith]

Don't they already have Harp to fill the pale lager market segment?

Too much flavour in Harp.

[mikeorr]

Chinese beer maker arrested after putting Viagra in drinks

[mumblecrunch]

Nothing I haven't read elsewhere (probably even here), but a very well-written take on the subject nonetheless:

http://www.londonlovesbusiness.com/life ... 46.article" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Keith]

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/texas-brewe ... k-of-beer/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Looks like well need a few of us to head down and load the 7' case of beer into the van.

[mikeorr]

Booze border limit challenge could be 'revolutionary,' judge says
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-bruns ... -1.2760525

The trial of a New Brunswick man charged with exceeding his cross-border alcohol limit has been adjourned until December.

But if his lawyer succeeds in challenging the limit as unconstitutional, the case will be "revolutionary," said Campbellton provincial court Judge Steven Hutchison.

He made the comment on the bench on Tuesday morning, when Gerard Comeau, of the Tracadie area, was due to stand trial on a charge of illegally importing alcohol from Quebec nearly two years ago.

But the judge said the documents were not in order and rescheduled the matter to Dec. 1 at 1:30 p.m.

"The defence asked for an adjournment pursuant to the instructions given by the court," defence lawyer Mikael Bernard told reporters outside the courtroom.

"We need to gather more evidence that we're going to need to present in [the] form of expert [witnesses] — and currently we don't have that evidence," said Bernard, who is based in Balmoral.

Bernard is representing Comeau and two other people who are facing the same charge for free, arguing the law is outdated and has been superceded by the Constitution.

Under the provincial Liquor Control Act, the maximum amount of alcohol that can be legally imported into New Brunswick from another province is one bottle of wine or spirits, or 12 pints of beer, which is about 18 bottles or cans.

Offenders are subject to an automatic fine of $292.50 and their liquor is seized and destroyed.

Bernard has said the last court decision on point dates back to 1928, during the prohibition period.

He has also said it does not make sense that the rules are more stringent for people returning with beer from other Canadian provinces than the United States.

Bernard says it's too expensive to bring in constitutional experts from Toronto, who could help him argue the case.

But they could still contribute to his defence, which will be outlined when the case resumes on Dec. 1, he said.

Two days have been set aside for Comeau's trial.

Comeau was carrying between 10 and 15 cases of beer when he was stopped at the border by Campbellton RCMP in October 2012, the courtroom heard.

He was one of 17 people charged over a two weekend-period. Nearly 5,000 bottles and cans of beer were seized, police had said at the time. The smallest seizure was 144 beers, while the largest was more than 1,000.

Comeau is one of four people fighting the charges against them.

The other three cases hinge on his verdict, said Bernard.

"We made an understanding with the Crown that whatever result we obtain from the court, either for or against defence in our submissions, that the other cases would follow," he said.

"In other words, there's either going to be changes of pleas, or I'm assuming the Crown would withdraw the charges completely."

Bernard is also representing Reggie Brideau, of Tracadie, and Charlene Mullaley, of Lorne, while James Messer, of New Zion, is being represented by Paul Hayes in English.

Many Campbellton-area residents travel to Pointe-à-la-Croix, Que., which is about a kilometre away, to buy cheaper booze. In some cases, it's almost half the price.

[mr x]

http://thechronicleherald.ca/business/1 ... in-october" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[chalmers]

Hopefully the tickets sell well. I believe Scott posted on here in August, and we also did a profile on them on the blog last week.

[mr x]

http://m.theglobeandmail.com/report-on- ... ice=mobile" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[CorneliusAlphonse]

http://metronews.ca/news/vancouver/1154 ... try-booms/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Key quote from the brewers union rep:

"We look at these as fads,” Bergunder said. “It happened with Mike’s Hard Lemonade and Smirnoff Ice — they become popular and then they fade out.”

[CorneliusAlphonse]

http://metronews.ca/news/vancouver/1154 ... try-booms/

Key quote from the brewers union rep (in reference to craft beer taking market share from macro lager)

"We look at these as fads,” Bergunder said. “It happened with Mike’s Hard Lemonade and Smirnoff Ice — they become popular and then they fade out.”

[mr x]

Lol, that's pretty funny. It certainly could be true, but I doubt it.